TEHRAN - Iran pulled away early on the way to dealing Saudi Arabia an 87-43 beatdown for a triumphant start to their FIBA U16 Asia Cup 2025 campaign, Sunday at the MBank Arena.
Four players of Coach Mohammad Sistani Badouei finished in double figures in the win, with Alireza Rashidi leading the pack with a game-high 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including a trio of threes.
Rashidi himself bannered the second-quarter pullaway, scoring seven in their 10-4 run to open the chapter for a 30-19 lead with about six minutes to go. The Saudis could never cut the gap to a single digit since.
Amirreza Azari supplied 13 points and 9 rebounds plus 3 steals. Mohammad Sale Pakgohar delivered 12 points alongside 7 rebounds, while Bardiya Khosravi chipped in 10 points in 14 minutes off the bench.
Team Iran hauled down a total of 60 rebounds and dished out 23 assists in the victory, collecting as well 19 steals as the crew did a bit of everything on both ends of the floor that left Saudi Arabia overwhelmed.
Also triumphant in Group D are Japan after a 107-51 conquest of Kazakhstan.
Iran will play Kazakhstan on Monday.
Japan and Iran are set to battle one another on Tuesday, September 2, and so it would be intriguing to see how tomorrow's clashes would turn out as their meeting could potentially be for the top seed in their group.
The tournament takes place at the M bank arena and the Buyant Ukhaa Sport Complex in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, from 31 August to 7 September 2025.
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